William M Sorrow

William (“Bill”) Mack Sorrow was born July 12th, 1940 in Allen, Oklahoma. He died February 14, 2015 in Temple, Texas from complications of a serious fall. Bill was preceded in death by his parents Myrtle Smith Sorrow and Albert Festus Sorrow, his brother Walton Sorrow, his parents in-law Maurice Rosenberg and Odessa (Locke) Rosenberg, his sister in-law, Rickie Rosenberg and companion dogs: Bailey, Becky, Irene Adler, Sunbeam, Giblets, Wendy, Scrabbles, Norton, Goldie, Geepers, Gretchen, Garfield, and Coco. His funeral will be at Condra Funeral Home in Taylor, Texas at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 19th followed by a graveside service at the Taylor Cemetery. Rabbi Monty Elisov will be officiating.

Bill graduated from Oklahoma University in 1963 and one of his favorite sayings was, “Sooner born, Sooner bred and when I die I’ll be Sooner dead.” After graduation, he worked as a US Park Ranger in Bandalier National Monument in New Mexico and participated in numerous archeological digs throughout New Mexico and Texas. In 1964, he was hired by the Texas Archeological Salvage Project (TASP) to lead digs throughout the State and eventually was promoted to Chief Archeologist. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Frances (Rosenberg) Sorrow who was a student at UT. Bill and Frances were engaged February 14, 1967 and married on July 16, 1967. After 10 years working for TASP, Bill wanted to spend more time at home with his sweetheart and took a position for DPS as a Ballistics Expert. Over the next 20 years, Bill became well known for his expert testimony and handled many high profile cases including the Austin Yogurt Shop murders. After retirement in 2002, he took care of his beloved rescue dogs and began pursuing interests as varied as antique collecting, sketching portraits, playing banjo and mandolin, and gourding. There is hardly a child in Taylor that doesn’t know Mr. Bill for his origami and has probably received a dollar folded as a heart, ring, star, or frog at some time.

Bill did not know a stranger and his charisma and optimism drew many people to become lifelong and devoted friends. Bill’s friends included childhood friend, George Lewis, his coffee group of 30 years: Bill Hathaway, Ron Holton and Terry Eulenfeld, Javier Yanez and his entire family who warmly embraced him, Norma and Dennis Wade who stood by his side throughout at the hospital, and his much beloved surrogate children whom he shared holidays and special occasions, Adriana and Eric Weiner. Bill particularly enjoyed the time he spent with Adriana sharing his latest artistic interest and was cared for by Adriana throughout several illnesses until the end.

Bill is survived by his darling wife, Frances, two companion dogs, Nelson and Gia, his brother-in law Lyndon Rosenberg, beloved nieces Mindy (Rosenberg) Chambers, and Melanie (Rosenberg) Thompson, their husbands Nick and Jake, and his newest delight, great niece Elizabeth Annette Chambers. Bill died with his wife and loving friends by his side.